Gendered Experience of Unemployment and Family Relations in Contemporary Poland

Abstract

Based on the analysis of the diaries written by the unemployed, the article investigates the relationship between the experience of unemployment and family relations of women and men. The authors argue that gender differentiates both the causes and consequences of unemployment. In the case of women, the following problems are indicated: the exit from the labor market due to child birth or child care, concomitant with the pressure for the care period prolongation, depreciation of housework, gendered ascription of the responsibility of care for the dependent, and the unequal economic resources. Four types of unemployed women are identified in the article: (1) the supported cohabitants in the waiting room, (2) undervalued housewives without a full-time job, (3) lonely super-women with children, and (4) childless family rocks. For men, the unemployment turns out to be a particularly difficult experience due to the loss of a breadwinner status and a privileged position. Three basic types of unemployed men can be distinguished on the basis of the analysed material: (1) housewives in trousers, (2) fallen fathers, and (3) prodigal sons.

Keywords

• unemployment
• family relations
• family roles
• gender perspective
• feminisation of unemployment